6B
Monday, January 30, 1995
NATION/WORLD UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Simpson defense still waiting
Wait on remarks helps defense law experts say
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — The opening statement by O.J. Simpson's lead defense lawyer has had more stops and starts than some space shuttle countdowns.
Johnnie Cochran Jr. has yet to finish his remarks to the jury, and now the prosecution wants him to take back some of his words — stuff the cat back in the bag, as it were. Uring the bell.
His misdeed was to mention witnesses and evidence not shared with the other side, as required by state law. The most recent halt to Cochran's opening came Wednesday afternoon, and Superior Court Judge Lance Ito is expected to rule Monday on possible sanctions against the defense.
Is unringing the bell possible with a jury? What will jurors think about this very strange trial development? And perhaps most critical, did the defense lose ground with so many interruptions?
Cochran, a master courtroom showman, probably gained an advantage from the unscheduled intermission, say some legal experts.
As they sit out the latest trial delay in their hotel rooms, the sequestered jurors have had plenty of time to think about Cochran's opening themes — that other killers are on the loose and the prosecution is obsessed with convicting Simpson, said defense attorney Gigi Gordon.
"The defense should be ordering up champagne toasts," she said. "This delay left jurors with Johnnie Cochran's words ringing in their ears."
UCLA law professor Peter Arenella agrees, but only to a point.
"Opening statements are extremely important for creating a mindset for jurors," Arenella said. "On the other hand, whatever mindset the jurors come out of opening statements with can change if the actual evidence doesn't support the mindset."
He also said that in along trial, as this promises to be, opening statements were not necessarily remembered by close of testimony.
"The importance of the opening statement is not to imprint in the jury all the details of your case, it's to get the jury to buy a particular story or framework with which the jury will evaluate all the evidence presented to them," Arenella said.
As for whether jurors can really erase from their memories the statements a judge orders stricken from the record, Arenella said it was unlikely, but it might not make much difference down the road.
"I don't think once the bell is rung you can unring it," he said. "So an admonition to the jury that they should disregard statements made by Johnnie Cochran concerning several witnesses ... is very unlikely to have any significant effect."
"On the other hand, if in fact at trial a witness does not appear or (witness) credibility is destroyed, Cochran's opening statements will make little difference," Arenella said.
Deputy District Attorney Marcia Clark indicated in courtroom arguments Thursday that whether it's possible to erase the memory of statements or not, the effort to do so is vital to the prosecution's getting a fair trial.
While acknowledging her case had been damaged by the defense statements in question, she added, "It's not damaged beyond repair because if certain admonitions are made, certain sanctions are undertaken and we are able to present the witnesses, the truth will come out because our case is strong."
The vast television audience may be more concerned about the gaps in proceedings than the jurors. Insulated as they are, it is unlikely jurors know about the bitter fight over the defense's admitted discovery violation. Neither would they know why Deputy District Attorney William Hodgman rose to object 13 times during Cochran's opening statement, nor that Hodgman was hospitalized Wednesday night complaining of chest pains. He is now resting at home and is expected back in court this week.
Indeed, the 12 jurors and 10 alternates must be getting the idea that their role in the delay-plagued trial is to hurry up and wait.
They initially checked into an unidentified hotel Jan. 11. A hearing on domestic abuse evidence was held without them and, except for brief quizzes by Ito on what Simpson headlines or rumors they might have seen or heard, they weren't brought to
court for a week and a half.
Last Monday, more legal arguments delayed opening statements and kept the jurors out of the courtroom again. Finally, on Tuesday, they heard from prosecutors Clark and Christopher Darden, who introduced them to sordid tales of wife battering and humiliation and traced a trail of blood from the crime scene to Simpson's property.
But when it came time for Cochran to speak, they were hustled back to their hotel two hours early—the courtroom TV camera had caught an alternate juror leaning forward, and the angry judge briefly contemplated cutting all live coverage. He relented the next morning.
Late Wednesday morning,
Cochran at last had his chance to
tell Simpson's side of the story,
portraying a vital family man and
public benefactor wrongly
accused of a ghastly crime.
But he was slowed by Hodgman's frequent objections, and the court recessed early for a juror's previously scheduled medical appointment.
Jurors could not know of the chaos that erupted after they left the courthouse Wednesday — or precisely why they weren't summoned Thursday, or Friday.
Opposing lawyers spent all day Thursday berating each other in court over the defense's failure to turn over to the prosecution about a dozen witnesses' names, several of which figured prominently in Cochran's opening.
The prosecutors demanded a 30-day trial delay to study the new evidence and a chance to address jurors again. The judge instead asked both sides to propose admonitions he would give the jury, presumably on Monday.
The jurors will be waiting.
Gay rights activists bracing for setbacks from Republicans
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Gay rights activists are bracing for setbacks in the Republi-can-controlled Congress, their fears fueled by legislation introduced by Sen. Jesse Helms and promises of a hearing on schools and homosexuality.
"The early signs are not good, and the Republican leadership has a fundamental decision to make, and that is whether they are going to lead with hate and discrimination or with common sense," said Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign Fund, the nation's largest jobbing group.
On the first day of the 104th Congress, Helms, R.N.C., introduced a bill to stop government agencies from using taxpayer funds "to encourage its employees or officials to accept homosexuality as a legitimate or normal lifestyle."
He also dropped in a bill to protect federal employees from being fired for speaking out on their own time against the federal government's policies toward homosexuals.
Helms says the two bills are necessary because the Clinton administration has extended homosexuals "special rights in the federal workplace, rights not accorded to most other groups and individuals."
Earlier this month, House Speaker Newt Gingrich said he had promised the Rev. Lou Sheldon, head of the Traditional Values Coalition, a hearing on whether the federal government should provide money to school districts that "promote" homosexuality.
Sheldon, leader of the conservative national church network based in Anaheim, Calif., says he does not know how much federal money is spent for such purposes. But, he added, "It isn't so much the money as it is ... that the first and second-largest school districts in America are promoting it: New York
and Los Angeles."
Then on Friday, House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas, the second-ranking Republican in the House, called Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts "Barney Fag" during an interview with reporters. Armey quickly apologized and said the comment was a slip of the tongue.
Frank, who is gay, told Armey he understood the remark was not intentional. But after listening to a tape of the interview, he said, "I could not accept that it was wholly accidental."
Even before the incident, Frank said the congressional landscape is looking desolate for gay and lesbian Americans.
"If you project the way the Republicans have always voted, it looks pretty bleak," Frank said. "The Republican majority has been consistently and overwhelming anti-gay."
The first two years of the Clinton administration provided gay activists exposure on such issues as gays in the military and job discrimination based on sexual orientation. They didn't win on either issue and expect to spend the next two years on the defensive, fighting off anti-gay amendments to legislation.
In December, President Clinton abandoned plans to propose philanthropist James C. Hormel — who is gay — as ambassador to Fiji, avoiding a showdown with Helms, then incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Last year, Helms and Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H., attached an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that would have cut federal funds to school districts that teach acceptance of homosexuality. A similar measure was tacked onto the House version by Rep. Mel Hancock, R-Mo.
Democrats stripped the measures from the final version of the bill.
Red Lyon Tavern
944 Mass. 832-8228
A touch of Irish in downtown Lawrence
HOW TO HANG ON TO YOUR DOUGH.
(WITHOUT CRAMPING YOUR STYLE)
Separate "needs" from "wants." Hint: A bed is a need.A Mr. Microphone is a want.
Split the bill but only pay your share. Why put in for someone else's swordfish if all you got was soup?
Set aside money for emergencies. Unless you'd rather call your parents for it instead.
Keep your eye on your wallet. Have a Citibank Classic card in case you lose it.The Lost Wallet $ ^{5M} $ Service can get you emergency cash, a new card, usually within 24 hours, and help replacing vital documents.
Free Delivery 749-0003
Peking Restaurant
PICK IT UP FOR JUST A BUCK!
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
C A R D
Valid Through July 31, 1995
NCSS
Save yourself some bucks! For just a $1 the Kansan Card can you can get great discounts and bargains on merchandise and services such as: auto repair, food, hairstyling, music, videos, and more.
Pick up your Kansan Card at- Jayhawk Bookstore Union Bookstore Burge Union University Bookshop and The Kansan, 119 Stauffer-Flint Hall
GET IT WHEN YOU PICK UP YOUR BOOKS!